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Sandy Lake Launches Youth Radio Program On Friday September 14, 2001, an eager group of volunteers spent two hours of their time from 9 to 11pm to relaunch the youth radio program. The purpose of the program is to entertain the young listening audience while addressing issues that affect their day to day lives such as; loss of language/culture, suicide, extreme boredom, drug abuse, the importance of education, alcoholism, healthy living, poverty, etc. The weekly radio show encourages as many youth to get involved in the programming and to have them talking directly to other youths over the air. The fun part to the show is the games such as; word scramble, word translation, trivia questions, and skits. Alex Fiddler, founder of the youth radio show says that, “Putting on the radio show requires a lot of preparation such as; script writing, finding sponsors for prizes, arranging the music, recruiting guests, and technical arrangements”. “We eventually want the youth to be trained in running their own radio shows and to serve as role models to their peers.” But first, a lot of work still needs to be done in terms of recruiting volunteers for the youth radio committee. “In the process we are creating a training program that will provide the youth with team building and leadership skills,” says Fiddler. The volunteers know very well what the youth are going through and what boredom can lead to, Ken Goodwin, a board member of the Wendamowin Radio Committee and youth radio program volunteer says “I use to hang around all night doing anything that excited me.” “I’m not proud of what I did, but I wished that there were positive things my friends and I could do back then.” “That’s what we’re trying to accomplish, to let the youth know that there are positive activities out there for them as long as they apply themselves.” Cheryl Meekis, another of the original facilitators for the program, says “We get an average 40 callers per show consisting of children, youth, and even parents. Knowing that we have a large listening audience gives us the boost needed to make the show even better.” In any case, it’s really exciting and rewarding to know that we may have played a positive impact in their young lives,” says Fiddler.